Title: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Original Release Date: 26th January 2010
Pages: 351
Read it in: 1 Week
Source: Amazon Kindle Store
Synopsis: Goodreads
Sierra’s family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it’s a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other.
Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.
By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb’s past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.
My Review:
What a brilliant book! I found myself hooked on this story from the get go! This is a loose ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream’ inspired tale, with familiar characters. We follow Meghan Chase as she learns that someone she loves has been taken into the Nevernever which is a faery world. Meghan isn’t alone though, she has a lot of helpers from this faery world, some faery’s and even a cat sith.
I quickly found myself loving this story. I thought the characters where witty, charming, brave, badass, and as for Meghan, I thought she was genuine. And honestly that was a trait she desperately needed to combat the personalities of Ash and Puck (the two fey that help Meghan most on her quest). The three characters have a great atmosphere surrounding them. They are all very interesting in their own way, and Ash and Puck have a great banter understanding that must doesn’t falter.
As much as I loved the story itself, a lot of my reactions came from the way the three characters interacted with each other. It wasn’t strange to find me grinning to myself because one or more of them had made a comment that made me laugh. But the characters weren’t the only thing that Julie created, she also created the Nevernever and the iron fey which were other interesting aspects of this novel!
We follow Meghan after her brother is kidnapped and switched out for a changeling and she has to travel into the Nevernever to find him and take him home. And I loved going on this journey with her. I found the book to be highly entertaining and will recommend this book to anyone who is hoping for a quick easy read that isn’t over after book one.
“You made me feel alive again.”
The Reading Pile 